Dirt, Pebbles, and Dice
by Kage NoTenshi
Summary: My theory on the origins of DDM. A tribute to Otogi as well as another oft ignored character: Esper Roba.


Two of my favorite characters, 'togi-chan and Esper Roba, never get their proper due in screen time or fic appearances. So I'm trying to mend that by trying to see what they'd be like in Egypt. Oh, and there are no pairings. I never write shounen-ai.

Disclaimer: I am POOR, peoples! As in, I don't even own the keyboard on which I'm typing. *sniffle* If I owned Yu-Gi-Oh, I would be VERY rich, but I don't. *cry*

The dark-haired boy crouched in a corner of the huge, pillared stone chamber, watching wide-eyed as two men in decorated clothes and hung with jewelry raised their hands and summoned great monsters to battle and destroy. His green eyes glittered with pleasure as the creatures matched strengths, and the men matched wits. He had often concealed himself in this place when he was hiding from his master, but had only recently discovered the epic battles of magic that were ritually held. Ever since he had first seen the creature emerge from the giant stone tablet, he had been thoroughly enchanted. But slaves had little free time, and he rarely had the chance to watch. Besides, if the priests ever found him lurking in that sacred place, he would be dead faster than he could pray to Ra for deliverance. But when he had the chance…

He grinned as one man dropped to his knees in defeat. He wished he could learn those arts. His fingers tingled whenever he saw them used, and he longed to show those men what he could do. But those were games for the wealthy and powerful, and he was nothing. Slipping away, he took a few alleyways and rooftops until he reached his master's courtyard. No one had missed him, and he melted effortlessly into the daily hustle and bustle of the household. Suddenly, a nudge from behind made him turn. "Sneaking off again, Otogi Ryuuji?"

He froze and then relaxed when he realized who it was. Grinning at the green-haired boy, he nodded. "Yeah, next time you have to come too. I bet you'd love those games, Esper Roba!"

The other boy smiled back, shifting slightly the basket of fruit he was carrying to the kitchen. "I'd love to, but I don't know if I can. I mean it's hard enough being a slave let alone having to watch out for-"

A loud crash interrupted him. Both boys turned to see a large water jug lying in the hallway, its contents spattered across the floor. The culprits, a few smaller versions of Esper Roba, scurried off to find hiding. 

"They make more trouble every day," groaned Esper. "Talk later, Ryuuji." He ran off down the hall in pursuit of his brothers. "Come back here, you rascals!! You clean up this mess or I'll get blamed!"

Otogi watched his friend vanish around a corner and then headed for the kitchens. He would spend the day washing dishes and floors. It was no glorious job, but it was life. As he sweated over the damp floor, he listened to the talk of the other slaves. Every little bit of information imaginable percolated down to there, sometimes faster than it reached the pharaoh's own ears. "That ambassador from Midian knows what he's doing," one of the slaves was saying. "With that lovely girl he brought, he's building a path straight to the pharaoh's heart."

"It's a fine line they're both walking. There's more to it than there seems."

"True, true. Oh, did you hear what happened this morning in the courtyard?"

Otogi tuned the voices out as they drifted to less interesting topics. _A path to the heart,_ he mused. _I like the sound of that…like something almost out of a game._

He couldn't sleep that night. Instead, by the light of the moon peeking through the window, he found a small, bare patch of dirt. With his finger, he drew a large rectangle and a heart at each end. He looked at that for a while and then rubbed out the hearts. He stared at that for a little more before making three hearts at each end instead of one. Then, carefully, he yanked out a few strands of his long dark hair from where it hung in front of his left eye and laid them across the rectangle to make columns. He wanted to make cross-strands for a grid, but his scalp protested where he had taken the first few. 

The moon had moved, its beams no longer falling directly through the window onto his marks in the dirt. He sighed and put his head down. _Better get some sleep for tomorrow. I can figure out how to put the monsters in the game later._

*

During the day, Otogi rarely had any spare time between all of the chores and tasks he was given, but during the midday heat when the palace was quiet, he often found a moment. It was during such a time that he discovered a patch of empty space in the corner of a courtyard that was perfect for planning. It was near the pharaoh's private quarters, so few bothersome people wandered by. Otogi knew he'd be better off not caught there, but it was so perfect otherwise. Even Esper Roba hadn't found this hideout yet. Otogi was tempted to tell him…just him, but then the little brothers would all trail along and maybe bring their friends… Ryuuji shuddered at the thought. 

Pushing all other cares to the side, he flopped down and drew the grid in the dirt with the three hearts at each end. The lines weren't as straight as when he pulled them from his head, but they worked for the time being. He grabbed a small pebble from near his feet and placed it on one of the squares in front of him. He imagined it was one of the monsters the priests summoned. In his mind, he ordered it to march across the field and wipe out the very heart of the fabricated opponent on the other side.

He frowned. That was too easy. Of course, the opponent would have monsters to guard his heart, but the game still needed something else to spice it up. He sat back for a while, trying to decide what it was. It refused to come, and the palace was stirring again for the afternoon, so he left his little grid and ran off to the kitchens. Maybe Esper Roba would have some ideas.

*

As it was, the pharaoh had decided to have a grand banquet with the ambassador from Midian, and the kitchens were way too busy to allow any chat time. Otogi only saw his friend in hurried passing, a blur of green hair and fatigued voice yelling for his little brothers to help him with the roasting pig. What seemed about five minutes more than eternity later, the kitchen was quiet, the sky was dark, and everyone had dragged themselves off to the sleeping quarters. Much to Ryuuji's disappointment, his friend was too tired to talk and instead all but fell through the doorway and onto the bare ground without the energy to crawl to a floor mat. But soon he too was sound asleep.

He didn't even notice the high priest himself standing in the doorway, surveying the exhausted slaves with a cold and calculating eye.

*

The next morning was the old "good news, bad news" mix. The bad news was that Otogi found himself assigned to washing steps by hand; the good news was that he had Esper Roba and his brothers for help and that it was out near one of the courtyards. "At least we won't be in some stifling enclosed room," pointed out his friend as they grabbed buckets of water.

"We get to burn in the sun instead," Ryuuji retorted.

"It's not that bad," laughed one of the little brothers.

Ryuuji didn't answer, but leaned over to his friend. "Which one is he?"

Esper shrugged. "Beats me. I can't tell 'em apart either…except for the littlest one, of course. Oi! Get back here! You're supposed to be helping out here, not trying to jump through the ponds. No, the lotus pads weren't meant for you to stand on; that's why they sink when you do!"

Otogi watched his friend's brothers slosh obediently up to the steps. "Make sure they dry off or they'll get mud all over," he warned. "And the pharaoh will have our heads."

"Or somebody. The pharaoh himself probably wouldn't bother with us."

"Yeah, that's true. Happy thought, isn't it?"

"Very."

They scrubbed in silence for a while. "Hey, Esper," Ryuuji started. "You know those games the priests and pharaoh play when they call up monsters to fight?"

Esper stiffened and looked around hurriedly. "Shh…" he warned. "You don't want anyone hearing you talk like that. We're not supposed to know."

"Everyone does," chimed in his little brother; #3, he guessed.

Esper wiped the sweat off his forehead, still looking a little worried. "Yeah, well… Just go on, Otogi."

"Okay. Imagine the game, but with lotsa squares and, say, three hearts at each end."

He raised an eyebrow. "Hearts??"

Ryuuji sighed. "Yeah, hearts. But I don't wanna explain right now. Anyway, you have to summon a monster and get across the grid to the other person's heart, er, hearts. Then you destroy 'em."

"Sounds cool."

"Thanks. But I need something to add a bit more of a challenge to it, more chance. You know?"

Esper Roba rocked back on his heels. "Well, if you want chance, best thing I'd say to use would be dice."

Otogi looked like he'd seen the goddess Hathor herself. "Dice! You're a genius, Roba! That'd be perfect!"

"Make sure they're not crooked."

"Yeah. Most dice you get through the other slaves are. Okay, so you roll to see if you can summon what you want…and what else?"

"Well, what else do they use in the priests' games?"

Ryuuji thought about that for a while, trying to remember every little detail. "They use magic sometimes, to aid their monsters."

"So put in magic. Monsters on some of the sides of the dice, and magic on others. What else do they have?"

Otogi pushed some hair from his face. "They have a different kind of magic too. It's more offensive than defensive, ensnaring opponent's monsters."

"Kind of like a…a…"

"A trap?" piped in brother #1.

"Yeah! A trap, sort of."

"So stick that in," said Esper, shrugging and swatting at a fly that buzzed too close.

Otogi nodded vigorously. "That sounds way awesome. If I weren't a slave, I'd march straight up to the pharaoh and tell him about it."

"I bet he'd like it," agreed one of the little brothers supportively.

Otogi smiled, plans for that afternoon spreading wildly in his head.

*

Otogi and Esper Roba finished the steps just before the midday meal and swiped some food from the kitchen. Ryuuji slipped away later in the day, borrowing some dice from one of the palace guards. He went back to his spot in the courtyard. No one else was there, as he had expected. He drew the grid again and rolled a die. He designated that number as a summoning and imagined the monster appearing on his field. 

But that wasn't enough. He stopped and thought about the way the air felt when the priests summoned the real things, the way the air trembled with a special energy and his eyes widened in unspeakable delight. He concentrated on that, imagining that he _was_ in fact a priest of the pharaoh. 

And he touched the square where he would have liked the monster to appear. 

To his immense surprise, something _did_ appear. He watched, wide-eyed as a very tiny blue dragon materialized on the square. "Winged dragon," he breathed, his eyes wide. It raised its transparent head and roared, though the sound could barely be heard. "Whoa…"

A sudden sound of footsteps startled him. He swiped a hand over the dirt, obliterating the grid and making the dragon vanish. With no fast way out of the courtyard, he settled for diving behind a pillar. He held his breath as the pharaoh and high priest swept into view. To be caught by those two might have been fatal. 

"I tell you, I sensed something," the priest was saying.

"Seto," sighed the pharaoh, "you can see for yourself that no one is here. If there is no one, then certainly there is nobody playing with magic."

The priest scowled, his sharp ice-blue eyes scanning the courtyard. "Footprints," he said suddenly in a soft voice that made Otogi shiver.

"Those might be my son's," put in the pharaoh. "He likes this courtyard. Now come, Seto. The tribute caravans will be arriving any day, and we have much to do for preparations. You know, maybe we should order something else for you to burn in the temples. You're starting to make me wonder if maybe what we use now is a hallucinogen." 

"Pharaoh!" Otogi stifled a laugh at the high priest's indignation.

"It would explain a lot…" Their voices faded as they started down another hall, and Otogi breathed a sigh of relief before allowing himself several good chuckles at the high priest's now-punctured dignity. With that, he darted out of the courtyard through a back gate.

Not a moment too soon, for the priest returned, dragged the pharaoh after him. "I heard something this time!" he stormed. "By Amon, I heard something!"

The pharaoh looked annoyed. "And what, pray tell, did you hear?"

"Laughter," said the priest vaguely, looking about. 

The pharaoh sighed. "I will have the scribes make a note to have the incense changed. And maybe you should take a day off."

*

When Otogi arrived back at the slaves' quarters, Esper Roba was waiting for him with a small basket. "Ryuuji!" he said excitedly, "I have discovered I have a gift from the gods! I am psychic!"

Otogi snorted derisively.

"It's true," persisted Roba. "Here. In this basket are scraps of papyrus the scribes threw away. Each has a different animal-like hieroglyph written on it. Pull one out and I'll be able to tell you what it is."

"Yeah right."

"Oh, try it, Otogi."

Skeptically, the dark-haired boy furtively picked out a piece of papyrus and looked at it. A snake.

Esper Roba put his fingers on his temples, humming a soft monotone. It made Otogi's skin prickle. Suddenly, his friend opened his eyes. "You have the serpent," he said confidently.

Ryuuji's mouth dropped open. "How…?"

"The gods told me," replied Esper mysteriously.

This response brought a storm of giggles from behind Otogi. He whirled around to see Esper's brothers falling over laughing, one of them still making a snake-like motion with his hand. "Some gods," he commented, joining them in merriment. 

"Hey, but that was a pretty good trick, wasn't it?" asked Esper, putting away the basket.

"Yeah," agreed Otogi. "You almost had me fooled."

"Of course, that isn't too hard," jibed his friend.

"Why you…" Ryuuji pushed his friend, playing along. They did that often, trying to outdo each other. Sometimes it ended up in a small scuffle, but that was good for keeping themselves sharp. Being on the smaller side of the palace slaves, they sometimes found themselves viewed as targets, Esper Roba's younger brothers especially.

*

Otogi stayed away from the pharaoh's courtyard for a couple weeks afterwards. He didn't want to risk getting caught. Eventually, though, the memory of his tiny dragon lured him back. He wished there was another place, but that seemed to have the least human traffic. An hour passed and he began to breathe more easily. He had decided the game needed still more challenge, and had been inspired by the lotus pads in the pond stretching from one side to another. Players now had to create paths across the grid to get to the opponent's hearts. 

He had just summoned the tiny Winged Dragon again when an ominous shadow fell over him and the playing field. He froze momentarily and then found himself yanked upright by a strong hand clamped on his ear. He looked slowly with silent terror into the face of the high priest. 

"Well," Seto murmured softly and venomously, "a slave in the pharaoh's courtyard, and without any sort of permission? That can't be right, can it?"

Otogi felt his legs tremble. He was going to die; he knew it. His ear throbbed already where the priest gripped it. "Forgiveness," he whimpered, cringing.

The priest let out a bark of a laugh. "Forgiveness?? I daresay the pharaoh would rather have you buried alive in the desert."

Ryuuji felt his eyes widen, fear growing within him as the priest dragged him off towards the pharaoh's hall. The great ruler was talking to some of his advisors as they arrived, but finished when he saw his high priest and the trembling, scruffy slave. "What now, Seto?" he asked, his crimson eyes meeting Otogi's emerald ones curiously. 

"I found him in your courtyard," said Seto triumphantly. "He's the one I sensed doing magic earlier." He let go of Ryuuji's ear and let him fall before the pharaoh, pressing his forehead to the floor.

A sudden scramble made everyone forget Otogi for the moment. They turned to see Esper Roba and his four brothers tumble into view. The younger brothers scattered at a word from Esper before the guards could snag any of them, leaving the oldest boy alone. 

The pharaoh looked almost amused as the guards brought Roba to stand next to Ryuuji. "Well," he murmured grinning slightly, "it seems my priests are getting a little rusty. None of them predicted for me that today would be a day for youngsters to be appearing unexpectedly. How, by Horus, could they have missed that, now, Seto?"

Seto scowled and said nothing. 

The pharaoh turned his gaze to Otogi. "So, young one, how is it that you came to be in my courtyard? This is a serious offense, you know, especially because of your low ranking."

Ryuuji shivered. "Exalted Pharaoh," he started, "I…I…" He swallowed. "I wanted a place to be alone to…"

The pharaoh's gaze bore into him.

"To attempt magic." Otogi finished with a whisper and then winced as if expecting a blow.

The pharaoh leaned forward. "Magic?"

Otogi nodded.

Seto looked furious, but before he could say anything, the pharaoh turned to Esper.

"And you? What are you doing in my hall?"

"Please, Exalted Pharaoh," cut in Otogi hastily, a plan forming in his mind to at least get Roba out of trouble. "He's my friend, and he's psychic. The gods speak to him. He probably knew I was in trouble and came to see what was going on."

Roba's eyes widened and he tried to signal Ryuuji to shut his mouth.

"Psychic?" asked the pharaoh, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

"Yes." Otogi picked up the basket of papyrus from where it had tumbled at the brothers' entrance. He handed it to Roba, who held it out timorously towards the high priest.

"Pick one," he said softly, obeying Otogi's nod, though he didn't see how it would help.

Seto rolled his eyes and drew a scrap. Roba put his fingers to his temples and started his humming. To his relief, when he opened his eyes, he saw his brothers peeking out from behind a pillar, one flapping his arms like wings and the other making a serious face like an owl.

"You have the desert owl," said Esper to the priest.

Seto dropped the scrap to the floor; everyone saw the boy had been right. Ryuuji glanced with relief at the pharaoh to see if it had impressed him as well. The Son of Ra looked as if he was trying not to laugh. 

"Clever," he admitted. "Perhaps someday my priests will learn such trick - er - sorcery, that is. I will let you go this time, but remember your place as a slave."

Ryuuji watched with satisfaction as his friend left the hall. The pharaoh was in a gracious mood; he had obviously caught on to Roba's little ruse. Now only Otogi was left to deal with. "So," said the pharaoh, turning back to him, "you say you tried magic. Did it work?"

"A little, sir," he answered.

"What kind of magic?"

Otogi bit his lip. "I summoned monsters, Exalted Pharaoh, but they were very small."

The high priest drew in his breath sharply. Even the pharaoh looked surprised. "But where did you learn this?"

"I…I watched the priests sometimes," he admitted, fear loosening his tongue. "And I tried it on my own."

"On your own??"

Seto cuffed the cowering slave. "That is deep magic, boy. No one can just make it up on their own. A boy your age could never hope to summon dueling monsters, even with training. By Ma'at, tell the truth!"

Otogi ignored his stinging cheek. "I am telling the truth," he said softly.

Seto lunged forward to strike him again, but the pharaoh waved him back. "Then show us," he said to Ryuuji.

The boy nodded and crouched down on the ground. Whispering a few soft words as they came to him, he watched as a Minotaur, only centimeters high, appeared in his hands. He held it out to the pharaoh and the high priest, both of whom stared in surprise. After a moment, the pharaoh dismissed Seto and bid Otogi return the miniature monster to wherever it came from. 

He spoke after a moment of silence. "Tell me your name," he said softly.

"Otogi Ryuuji, Exalted Pharaoh,"

"Well, Otogi, I am afraid I have to ask something rather difficult of you."

"Yes, Pharaoh?"

"I need to ask you to give this magic up."

Ryuuji's eyes widened. "Give it up?"

"I know this must be a great disappointment to you, but I will try to explain. You have seen the Shadow Games, have you not?"

"Yes, Pharaoh," admitted Otogi.

"They are ruthless and sometimes cruel. I feel they have gone on long enough. I am going to seal them away." He glanced at the shocked young boy. "You must not tell anyone yet; even my high priest does not know."

Ryuuji felt his dreams shatter. "Yes, Pharaoh." An impossible hope stirred in him. "But what if I wasn't using the monsters the way you and the priests do? What if I wasn't playing your game?"

The pharaoh turned to him. "Then what were you doing?"

"I made my own game," said Otogi softly. "With dice and a path and lots of tricks and choices."

The pharaoh looked interested. "Tell me about it."

So Otogi explained everything he had come up with, and all the little facets of the game. The pharaoh listened in fascination and wonder, asking all the right questions at the right time. "It is a strange trick of the gods that you were born a slave," he murmured as Otogi finished. "Sadly, I must still seal away the games. Perhaps I could find you a post as a priest…"

"Under High Priest Seto?" asked Otogi, paling slightly. "Will you be offended if I decline?"

The pharaoh smiled. "What? Afraid of him?"

"Oh, no, pharaoh," said Ryuuji, a mischievous grin forming on his face. "It's just that the incense is a hallucinogen, and I like to keep my head clear."

The pharaoh laughed out loud. "So you were there in the courtyard, you troublemaker. I should apologize for giving him trouble over that. Have you been able to do magic for that long?"

"Yes."

"Amazing. I suppose the least I can do is give you your freedom."

Ryuuji's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yes."

"But…" Otogi looked thoughtful, "what about my friend Esper Roba?"

"The psychic?"

They both laughed, remembering Seto's face. "Yeah, him."

"I'll free you both, and his all-informing 'gods,'" said the pharaoh with a smile. "But promise me you won't stand in my way when I seal away the games."

"No, sir."

"Good." The pharaoh pulled something out of a small embroidered pouch at his waist and gave it to Otogi. It was an ivory die, perfectly even and balanced. "Remember," he said gently, "one can never be too powerful not to love games."

Ryuuji smiled up at his monarch. "Thank you, Pharaoh."

The ruler smiled back at him. "Run along now, tell your friend. I'm sure he's waiting anxiously to hear if you're alive or not."

As Otogi scampered from the hall, he nearly ran down a tall woman in a flowing white outfit, a Horus-like headdress framing her sculpted face. He muttered a hurried apology and was about to continue on when she touched his shoulder. "You're Otogi Ryuuji, aren't you?"

He stared at her. She was the Priestess Isis, the only woman in the Pharaoh's inner circle and quite skilled at the Shadow Games herself, not to mention named after a powerful goddess. And she knew his name. "Yes, ma'am," he choked out.

She smiled, the eye-like symbol on her necklace glinting. "Even though the Shadow Games are to be sealed away, you will become great."

Otogi gasped. The pharaoh had said no one knew about his intentions.

She laughed slightly at his expression. "Don't worry, I wasn't listening in. I just have a special way of knowing things. At any rate, don't give up your dreams of greatness. They'll come true in another life if not this one. I have seen it."

"Thanks," he said nervously with a slight bow, not quite sure what to make of her. She went her way, and he walked back to his. 

He and Esper and his brothers spent one more night in the slaves' quarters before setting out the next day to face their new life of freedom. Otogi took the time to show off the ivory die from the pharaoh. "Whoa," said Esper Roba, staring at it. "It's so beautiful, what're you gonna do with it?" 

Otogi looked thoughtful. "Dunno, keep it. I think maybe I'll use resin to attach a string to it and hang it from my ear. Then everyone knows I talked with the pharaoh. Besides, it looks very stylish, don't you think?"

Esper snorted.

"You're just jealous," jibed Ryuuji with a grin. 

He fell asleep that night with dreams of greatness in his head, a smile on his face, and the pharaoh's die in his hand.

Owari


End file.
